Terrorism and Religion for Tufyal Choudhury and Helen Fenwick

Question: Discuss about theTerrorism and Religion for Tufyal Choudhury and Helen Fenwick. Answer: Terrorism is one of the major threats which the world is facing at the moment and the mitigation of this is very important for the maintaining the harmony as well as the status quo of the world (Jongman 2017)[1]. It is significant to note that in the present times there are various reasons for the rise in the number of the terrorists activities which the world is facing at the moment like the economic condition of the various third world countries of the world, the injustices which the various communities or segments feel have been committed against them and various others (Nacos 2016)[2]. Therefore, religious terrorism is on the rise and many people are becoming victims to this particular evil. It is often seen that many culprits use the name of religion to justify their terrorist and other anti-social activities which cause a significant amount of damage to the other innocent people of the society (Spalek 2012)[3]. This paper seeks to compare and contrast two article related to the genre of terrorist activities, namely, The impact of counter-terrorism measures on Muslim communities by Tufyal Choudhury and Helen Fenwick and the article What's so religious about religious terrorism? by Jeroen Gunning and Richard Jackson in the context of the views articulated by them in their articles. The article The impact of counter-terrorism measures on Muslim communities written by the authors Tufyal Choudhury and Helen Fenwick and published in the International Review of Law, Computers Technology in the year 2011 seeks to give an overview of the terrorism and also the concept of counter-terrorism and the role of the religion in the process (Choudhury and Fenwick 2011)[4]. The article puts special emphasis on the role of the Muslim religion in the process of terrorism and how this particular religion is used by the various people to justify their anti-social activities which lead to a destruction of many valuable lives and property on a yearly basis (Choudhury and Fenwick 2011)[5]. The authors also seek to analyze the various legislations and policies which have been developed to counter the increasing number of terrorist activities in the various Muslim nations (Choudhury and Fenwick 2011)[6]. The article What's so religious about religious terrorism? by the authors Jeroen G unning and Richard Jackson published in the Critical Studies on Terrorism in the year 2011 also seeks to provide an overview of the concept of terrorism and it seeks to validate the concept of religious terrorism which is being committed in the various nations of the world in the name of the religion (Gunning and Jackson 2011)[7]. Furthermore, the article argues that the distinctions typically drawn between religious and secular terrorism are problematic (Gunning and Jackson 2011)[8]. Moreover, the article also seeks to provide an overview of the concept of the political religion and tries to relate it to the current definitions of terrorism (Gunning and Jackson 2011)[9]. It is to be noted that whereas the first article by the authors Tufyal Choudhury and Helen Fenwick seeks to repudiate the concept of terrorism and criticizes the role of religion in the process of terrorism (Choudhury and Fenwick 2011)[10] whereas the second article by the authors Jeroen Gunning and Richard Jackson, on the other hand, seeks the validate the concept of religious terrorism and also the concept of political religion which the major terrorist organizations of the world as well as the individuals use to justify their acts of criminality and terrorism (Gunning and Jackson 2011)[11]. Furthermore, it is to be noted that whereas the article by Tufyal Choudhury and Helen Fenwick focuses on the various legislations passed by the diverse nations of the world like the United Kingdom and others to curb the rising terrorist activities in the various Muslim nations of the world (Choudhury and Fenwick 2011)[12]. The article by the authors Jeroen Gunning and Richard Jackson, on the ot her hand, focuses on the role of beliefs and institutional structures, religious or otherwise, in producing political violence (Gunning and Jackson 2011)[13]. Furthermore, both the articles articulate the concept that just the development of policies as well as legislations is not enough. The various first world nations of the world also need to find out and analyze the major reasons behind the growing number of terrorist activities and address them in the most effective manner in a bid to resolve the evil of terrorism which the majority of the nations of the world are facing at the moment (Richardson 2013)[14]. In addition to these the various nations of the world also needs to develop other relevant strategies for the mitigation of this particular risk faced by the world presently (Spalek 2012)[15]. The primary strength of the article The impact of counter-terrorism measures on Muslim communities can be said to be the penetrating insight which it provides into the concept of terrorism and the role which religion plays in the process of terrorism. Another significant strength of the article can be said to be the fact that it also tries to show how religion is used by the various people to justify their terrorist activities (Choudhury and Fenwick 2011)[16]. On the other hand, the strength of the article What's so religious about religious terrorism? can be said to be the fact that it seek it provide an insight into the process of religious terrorism and also seeks to validate the use of the concept of religion in the process of terrorism (Gunning and Jackson 2011)[17]. The weakness of the article The impact of counter-terrorism measures on Muslim communities can be said to be fact that the article fails to take into consideration the role played by the other factors in the process of terrorism. The sole focus of the article is on the role which religion plays in the terrorism and not on the major factors. The weakness of the article What's so religious about religious terrorism? can be said to be the fact that the article puts too much emphasis on the concept of political religion and seeks to validate the concept of religious terrorism which is completely unethical. To conclude, it becomes evident that the problem of terrorism is one of the major issues which the world is facing at the present moment. It is significant to note that the various individuals use the concept of religion and other factors to justify their acts of criminality and brutal behavior which should not be the case. Therefore, the world needs to address this particular evil as it causes a significant amount of damage to property as the loss of lives on an annual basis. It is a reflection of this that the various nations of the world have developed certain legislations and policies related to the control of terrorism in the various nations of the world. However, just the mere development of policies is not enough the various first world nations of the world also need to address the major issues which give rise to the various terrorist activities. References Combs, C.C., 2017.Terrorism in the twenty-first century. Routledge. Jeroen Gunning and Richard Jackson 2011. What's so religious about religious terrorism?, Critical Studies on Terrorism, 4:3, 369-388, DOI: 10.1080/17539153.2011.623405 Jongman, A.J., 2017.Political terrorism: A new guide to actors, authors, concepts, data bases, theories, and literature. Routledge. Martin, G., 2017.Understanding terrorism: Challenges, perspectives, and issues. SAGE publications. Nacos, B., 2016.Mass-mediated Terrorism: mainstream and digital media in terrorism and counterterrorism. Rowman Littlefield. Richardson, L., 2013.The roots of terrorism. Routledge. Spalek, B. ed., 2012.Counter-terrorism: Community-based approaches to preventing terror crime. Palgrave Macmillan. Tufyal Choudhury and Helen Fenwick 2011. The impact of counter-terrorism measures on Muslim communities, International Review of Law, Computers Technology, 25:3, 151-181, DOI: 10.1080/13600869.2011.617491